


Dysfunctional

by Chains_and_Pasta



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Marble Hornets
Genre: Arguing, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Car Accidents, Death Threats, Fire, Gun Violence, Minor Character Death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Scary Clowns, this isnt incest get out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-06-27 06:52:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19785514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chains_and_Pasta/pseuds/Chains_and_Pasta
Summary: After the murder of their parents, Liu tried to have a normal life and avoid any mention of his family. But all that changed when his brother paid a visit.[ This is NOT a Jeff × Liu story. If you ship incest, get out. This story isn't for you. ]





	1. Who Is Phone?

Bam, Jeff shot another police officer, before ducking behind a car. A few shots rang out before the police couldn't spot him, and stopped. Jeff opened the car door, and reached into the pocket of a dead man. Gross, but a little necessary. He pulled out a phone and went to the emergency call button, typing in the number he knew by heart. He waited a couple painful seconds, glancing over his shoulder to check and see if the police were still far away. "Come on, come on, pick up," He muttered under his breath. The ringing stopped. Jeff held his breath.

"Hello?" Said a young man's voice.

"Oh, thank god, Liu, I need your help," Jeff said, relieved. A moment of silence, before:

"Oh fuck, Jeff? Come on man, I can't keep doing this- how have the police not killed you yet?"

"Love you too, Liu," Jeff responded, rolling his eyes. He could hear the police shouting behind him, they were getting closer. Jeff went into a crouch, getting ready to run, looking for an open spot. "Look, Liu, I need a place to stay tonight, I can get there myself, just leave the door unlocked and-"

"No! Jeff, I'm not helping you escape the police. You probably killed a bunch of people- I can't do this. It doesn't matter if you're my brother or not, you murder people- you love it, god Jeff, you murdered our parents and didn't think twice about it-"

Jeff ran, police firing at him every step of the way. If Liu said anything else, he couldn't hear him over the sound of gunshots. He went behind a building, into an alley way. The police didn't bother chasing him, which made sense. There wasn't much of them left, probably waiting for reinforcements. Jeff readjusted the phone, balancing it between his shoulder and his head so he didn't have to hold it.

"Thanks for bringing up their deaths again, Liu. You know, it hurt me as much as it hurt you-"

"Bullshit, Woods. I still go to therapy for what you did to my fucking face. Don't try telling me you cared about them, that you regret it."

Jeff sighed, trying to think of something that would calm Liu down. Liu was partly right, but jeez, did he have to bring it up every single time? Unlike Jeff, Liu hadn't become a killer after their parent's deaths. He actually had a normal life, a normal job. In fact, the only abnormal thing he had was the scars Jeff left behind the day he murdered their parents.

A puff of black smoke appeared, causing Jeff to almost drop his phone as Laughing Jack teleported beside him. Jeff put a hand over the phone, blocking out Liu's angry ranting, and glared at LJ. "Whadya want?" Jeff asked. Jack pursed his lips, looking very displeased at Jeff.

"Do you happen to have an escape plan or what? Backup will be here soon and while I can most definitely kill every single one of them, I don't feel like doing all the work," Jack said haughtily, putting a hand on his chest.

Jeff knew this was LJ's way of saying, "we're losing badly, either get us out or help me kill everyone". Jeff pointed towards the phone. "I'm on it, ok? Just hold them off and be back here in 5 minutes." He said. Jack nodded curtly and disappeared again.

Jeff turned back to the phone, putting it up to his ear to hear Liu- god, was he still yelling?

"Jeff? Jeff! Oh god, he got fucking shot, I knew it, oh god, fucking hell-"

"Yo." Jeff said.

"JEFF WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU I THOUGHT YOU DIED" Liu screamed, Jeff flinched away from the noise, holding the receiver away from his ear for a second.

"Damn, ok, I'm fine, just had to deal with some shit, ok?"

"You mean you killed someone, right?"

"No, actually, I saved a kitten from a tree," Jeff sarcastically retorted. "Listen, Liu, I'm coming over whether you like it or not, my friend's hurt- he got shot- and I need somewhere for him to rest for a night. Please." Jeff added. It was true, Jeff wasn't really a liar. Masky had gotten shot by one of the policemen, he was safe, for now, Jeff had ordered Jack to keep him out of harm's way. He wondered if the clown actually listened to him though.

There was a pause, and Jeff heard Liu suck in air.

"Fine. I'll leave the door unlocked. Please make sure he doesn't die on my couch, Jeff." Liu said finally. Jeff smiled. "Course. Thanks, bro."

The line went dead, and Jeff threw the phone down. He looked around the corner. He could see lights flashing in the distance, backup was here, right on time to see them leave. Jeff turned back to see LJ staring him in the face, Masky slumped over his shoulder. Jeff jumped and covered his mouth to keep from screaming.

"Jesus fucking- you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Jeff yelled. Jack simply frowned, shifting Masky so he didn't fall. "Do you know where we're going yet?" he said, ignoring Jeff's comment. Jeff took a moment to glare at the monochrome clown before responding.

"Yeah, yeah. Washington state. Is Masky ok?" He asked, looking over to the limp body that laid on Jack's feathered shoulders. A soft groan came from the body.

"He's managing," Jack said, lifting his hands in a what-can-you-do gesture. Jeff gave LJ the street address, holding onto the clown's striped sleeve before they teleported to his brother's house.


	2. Bad Habits come with a Backstory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liu thinks about his past

Liu sighed, dropping the phone back onto the table the side of his bed. He contemplated calling the police, having them be here by the time Jeff and his "coworkers" arrived, but like every other time, he didn't. He knew there was no point, Jeff was known for escaping prisons, asylums, and the police.

Liu got up, taking a few deep breaths. He hated when Jeff visited. It always caused an onslaught of anxiety and mental breakdowns that could take months to get over. Sully always tried to make an appearance as well. At least this time Jeff called beforehand.

He got up and checked the window, jolting it up and few times to check that it was locked, before walking downstairs. He often did things like this, it was a habit of the OCD and paranoia that he had been suffering with for a while.

After the murder of his parents, Liu became an orphan, the only constant in his life being a therapist and the police, who showed up whenever they had hit a dead end in tracking down Jeff. It was as if the world wouldn't let Liu forget his past. The scars were bad enough, the fact that his brother had a habit of showing up on the news was also a terrible reminder. But Jeff just wouldn't stop, no, he had to show up at Liu's front door every so often, covered in blood, seeking refuge. And the worst part?

Liu would let him in.

He couldn't explain to himself why he did it. Usually he said it was out of fear, after all, Jeff was a well-known serial killer, but then, why didn't Liu ever call the police? Was he scared of Jeff breaking out of prison and coming back for revenge? Was it something else? Liu took in another breath, clutching his head as if in pain, before reaching out and unlocking the door to his apartment.

But he knew it was because, deep down, Liu still thought Jeff was a good person, that he had a reason- a real one- for killing their parents. But the thought that there was any good reason to murder someone made Liu feel sick to his stomach.

Thoughts like these weren't beneficial, they always led to Sully trying to come back. Sully rarely made an appearance anymore. Liu wasn't sure if he was thankful for that or not. On one hand, Sully had felt like a safety net for him after his parents died. Whenever Liu had flashbacks to Jeff's blood soaked clothes and smile, Sully took over.

Sully didn't remember that night, but he hated Jeff just the same for it. He knew what Jeff had done to Liu, to the family, and took a vow to kill Jeff, since Liu was too afraid and small to do much of anything. Sully was the stronger one, that came out to face the things Liu couldn't anymore.

Liu looked over at the couch for a moment, before going back upstairs to grab some blankets.

After years of sessions with multiple therapists, the wound of his parent's deaths stung a little less, the scars on his face faded into sharp lines and over time, Sully began to show up less. Not that he disappeared completely, of course. The first time Jeff had visited Liu, so many years after the "incident", Sully had come back at full force, and didn't let Liu take over again for a solid week.

Even now, as Liu grabbed some pillows he wished that Sully could take over again, just until Jeff left. He knew that wouldn't be a good idea, however, and forced the thought from his mind.

He walked out of his room, before stopping suddenly. The bathroom door was open with the light on. A pale face, slit mouthed killer walked out and waved lightly.

"Hullo, Liu," Jeff said. "Sorry 'bout breaking into your house, by the way. Do you know where the first aid kit is?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry the chapter's so short!


	3. Bean Juice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liu tries to make polite conversation

Liu didn't say a word as he continued to the front door and locked it again. He turned, slowly, to face the Jeff and his friends. A man lay bleeding on Liu's couch, it was hard to tell if he was conscious or not since he had a mask on, which had a few drops of dried blood on it. Jeff hovered over the man, propping his head up with a pillow. Liu had also noticed a rather tall guy dressed as a clown, with sharp teeth and claws, who giggled every so often.

Liu decided to ignore the clown. He instead went into the bathroom and grabbed the first aid he kept there, and came back and handed it to Jeff, not meeting his eyes. Jeff grunted out a short, "Thanks," before opening it and grabbing the bandages.

Liu stood there awkwardly for a moment, his hands in his pockets, before asking, "Is he, uh, y'know, ok?"

Jeff let out another grunt. "Yeah. He was just grazed by a bullet, he'll be fine, it might take a few days for him to recover though."

A couple days?! Liu thought, but kept it to himself. Hopefully they'd leave sooner than that, the clown was already starting to freak him out. He tried making more conversation with Jeff.

"Did you kill anyone."

"What do you think, Liu?" Jeff snapped back, lifting the masked man's shirt and cleaning off the blood.

Liu flinched, then frowned. "What were you doing? Where were you?"

"Classified information, brother," Jeff said with a smirk.

Liu cringed at the word brother, gritting his teeth for a moment, before asking, "I'm going to make some coffee, want some?"

"No thanks, and I think Tim here is a little too out of it to drink anything. Jack likes tea though, got some of that?" Jeff responded, still dabbing at the masked man's abdomen, who Liu assumed was Tim.

Liu glanced at the clown. "Uhm. I might, yeah." He turned and walked into the kitchen, opening a cabinet and peering in. "Oh, yeah, we have some-OH GOD." Liu shouted, turning to be nearly nose to nose with Jack. He took a step backwards, and the clown let out another terrifying chuckle.

"Jack, stop being fuckin' creepy!" Jeff yelled from the other room. Jack's smile didn't fade as he pulled himself back to full height, which honestly wasn't any less threatening, but at least there was some distance between the two of them now. Liu took a few more breaths, counted to ten, and continued making coffee.

"Are you fine with black tea?" Liu asked Jack, shaking the box of tea bags.

"Yes," Jack responded, it was the first time he'd actually spoken to Liu. His voice had the slightest hint of a British accent, and reminded Liu vaguely of an old record player, rusty and crackling. Liu nodded and got to work making the coffee, and then the tea. He set the tea down on the counter, and pointed at it, "that's yours," he said. He went back to the living room with his own cup.

Jeff was nearly done stitching up Tim, it seemed. He patted Tim's shoulder and the man mumbled out, "I'm all good?"

"Not dying today, I guess," Jeff responded. Liu sipped his coffee, and muttered, "Nice to know you have one less murder on your hands, Jeff."

Behind Liu, he heard the clown let out another cackle. Jeff looked up. "Is that for me?" He asked Liu, pointing to the coffee. Liu glared at him. "No. You said you were fine."

"Can I have it anyway?"

"No."

Jeff huffed, sitting on the floor, leaning his head back on the couch. There was a moment of silence, before Jeff spoke again. "Do you have any blankets we could borrow? And a clean shirt, for Tim? We can sleep here tonight." Liu nodded, glad to have an excuse to leave the room. As he looked into the closet and grabbed what they needed, he shuddered, thinking about the three he'd let into his home.

A man with a white mask, bleeding out onto his couch.

An inhuman looking clown that sucked the color from the room.

And his own brother, who had turned into a monster and tried to kill Liu.

How many days were they staying again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I forgot to mention that I started writing this fic two years ago, and recently started writing it again. Which is why these earlier chapters are so short.


	4. An Odd Family History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff learns something new about his past- all of it untrue.

Jeff jolted awake at the sound of a phone going off. LJ loomed over him as if he were waiting for Jeff to wake up, his hand on Jeff's shoulder. Jeff swatted the clown away, still half-asleep, and sat up. He had been sleeping on the floor the entire night, next to Masky, who was on the couch. Jack, well, Jack didn't really need to sleep, so Jeff wasn't sure what the fuck he did last night. Across the room the phone was ringing, and Jeff mumbled to Jack to "turn that damn thing off".

Jack crossed his arms, displeased. "No. I don't know how to work phones." Jeff rubbed his face, trying to wake up, stumbling over to the phone and answering it without thinking.

"Yo," Jeff said.

A young female's voice came from the other end, "Uhm, Liu? Is this you?" She asked, confused. Jeff blinked, realizing he had picked up his brother's phone. "Oh, uh, no, this is his brother." He immediately regretted saying that, since he was, y'know, an infamous murderer, but the response didn't seem to faze the woman at all.

"Oh! It's nice to hear you, Liu doesn't talk much about his family, it's glad to see you back on your feet, Jeff!"

He was surprised Liu had told this girl- or anyone- about him. Why was she so unsurprised by a killer's voice? "Uhh-"

"Anyway," The girl continued in a peppy tone, "tell Liu I'm coming over at 6 tonight, and that he needs to dress nicely, which means NO SCARF. Got it?"

"Uhh-"

"Thank you so much, nice talking to you Jeff!" She finished, before hanging up. Jeff stood there staring at the phone for a minute, not sure how to respond to this encounter. Jack sidled up to him. "Do we need to go?" He asked. Jeff shook his head. "No, I mean, I don't think the police know we're here yet, but I need more information. We should be fine." He responded, still lost in thought.

Liu came into the room, and noticed Jeff holding his phone.

"What are you doing with that? Was it ringing, I thought I left it down here last night," He rushed, coming over and snatching the phone away, looking at it as if Jeff planted a bomb inside.

Jeff looked at Liu, the confused expression still clear on his face. "Some girl called and said your scarves are dumb and that she's coming over at 6."

Liu's eyes went wide with realization. "Oh, fuck Jeff, you talked to Lucie? At 6 tonight, oh man, I forgot about that-"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on, what's going on?" Jeff questioned Liu. "Who's Lucie, how does she know who I am? Liu, what did you tell her?"

Liu tugged the scarf he was wearing over his mouth nervously, still staring down at the phone. "Lucie's my girlfriend, Jeff. I didn't tell her what you think I did, she doesn't know about anything," He concluded, turning to go into the kitchen. Jeff stood still, completely blown away by all of this new knowledge. Laughing Jack, thankfully, stepped in to put everything into words:

"You have a girlfriend?" He said in complete disbelief, and Liu felt a stab of annoyance. "Yes, I have a girlfriend, that's what normal people do, they have jobs, they have apartments, they have girlfriends." He said sounding exasperated.

Jeff told Jack to shut up and to look after Masky, following Liu into the kitchen, firing off more questions.

"What the hell did you tell her? Who does she think I am?"

"Classified information, Jeff." Liu retorted, throwing Jeff's words from last night back at him.

Jeff growled, "Classified my ass, brother." Jeff spat back, knowing full well Liu hated the term. Liu, as expected flinched and glared at Jeff for a short second, before he turned away. Jeff knew his appearance scared the hell out of Liu, but as Jeff had the bad habit of not meeting people's eyes either he let it go and continued pestering him.

"What does she know?"

Liu sighed and said," I told her you're a drug dealer that couldn't pay back some money he owed and so some gang cut your face up."

Jeff sputtered for a moment. "What?!" He said finally. What kind of story was that? Liu shrugged, his eyes wide, "Look, I don't know, ok? Some gangs do that shit, it's called a Glasgow smile, look it up!"

"How do you explain your scars then?" Jeff shot back, gesturing to Liu's face, causing Liu to tug his scarf over his mouth again. "Were you a shitty drug dealer too?"

"No!" Liu yelled,his voice slightly muffled. "I- I got attacked by a dog!" He admitted.

Jeff hunched over, completely aghast. "A fucking dog. Did that," He said bluntly,gesturing to the sharp lines running jaggedly across Liu's face.

Liu let out an frustrated grunt. "She bought it, ok? Maybe I didn't want to tell her the sob story of the orphan kid who's brother murdered their parents and at least 19 dozen others across the country, huh?"

"Oh, so the drug dealer brother and the dog with precise cutting techniques was so much better?" Jeff asked dryly.

"Yes!" Liu said back, throwing his arms in the air.

Jeff heard a commotion in the other room, he and Liu looked to see Tim, who had woken up, and Jack chuckling from the argument. Jeff saw Liu's face redden underneath his scarf.

Tim eventually apologized for laughing. "But damn, you can really tell you two are brothers, huh?" He said. Neither Liu or Jeff felt good about that statement, giving noncommittal shrugs. Liu made some more coffee before heading back upstairs, mumbling something about work. Jeff looked back at Tim.

"How're you feelin'?" He asked, and Tim shook his head. "Could be better, what about you? What's been going on while I was out?"

Jeff went over and sat by Tim and Jack, thinking. "Well, Slenderman doesn't know we're here, so Jack should go back and report, before we do anything big. We should probably also wait till you get back on your feet," Jeff said, glancing to Tim's abdomen.

"Also," He continued, "I want more information on Liu's girlfriend, I feel like something's weird about all of this."

Masky raised an eyebrow, smirking. "It's weird your brother has a girlfriend and you don't?"

Jeff considered stabbing Masky for that comment, but he settled for a harsh glare instead. "No," He huffed, rolling his eyes and dropping the subject. "We should leave in about two days." Masky nodded, examining his bandages.

"Really though Jeff, you should stop being so paranoid about everything. Lucie won't suspect a thing, your brother's cover is fine for now. Maybe you can hold back on the whole-" Tim made a stabbing motion with his hands, jokingly. Jeff crossed his arms.

"I'm not too paranoid about anything. Just cautious. And come on, Mask, I wouldn't hurt a fly!" Jeff added sarcastically, a slight grin on his face. Jack butted in on the conversation. 

"I do hope Liu's lady friend isn't staying over for dinner, after all, we aren't what's considered polite company," He finished with a chuckle.

_Ah, shit,_ Jeff thought. Jack was right, he couldn't let Lucie spot them, but it shouldn't be too hard. He brushed it aside for the time being. "We'll work it out when the time comes," Jeff stated, getting up to turn on the TV. "Until then, let's see if we've made the national news yet!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Liu, that scarf does NOT match any of your outfits. Despicable.


	5. Clownfish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liu goes to work and gets an unexpected visitor

Liu frowned while overhearing what he could of Jeff's conversation with the others. The Slenderman? Who the hell was that? He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Whatever, he didn't care, he didn't want to get dragged into Jeff's crazy life. Liu left before he could hear the rest, and got dressed in his work outfit, which was a simple blue t-shirt and some pants.

Liu worked at a pet store, and while he loved seeing the animals that walked through the doors and feeding the birds, mice, and other animals they sold there, he knew he could never afford one, not on minimum wage.

He checked the clock on his dresser. He had 5 minutes to leave the house, or he was going to be late. He let out a frustrated grumble before grabbing the set of keys he kept in his sock drawer, and running out. He would have to deal with Jeff and his friends at a later time.

On the drive to work, he managed to relax a little. A full 6 hours not having to deal with- well, with Jeff. And tonight he'd spend time with his girlfriend, and from what he heard, only two more days after that and Jeff would be gone! He drummed his fingers on his dashboard, turning on the radio to hear some music. A few songs played before the broadcast came on. Regular stuff, selling concert tickets, asking questions, talking about celebrities newest scandals, Liu reached out to change the station when a man's voice came on the radio again, a little more somber.

"Next is a story we always hope to never bring up, but Jeffery Woods, known by most people as the infamous 'Jeff the Killer' has struck again in Colorado just yesterday-" _What? That doesn't make sense, how did he travel so fast?_ Liu thought, his eyes widening, taking his hand away from the radio, desperate to hear more. Jeff never did bother telling him what he had done.

The man on the radio continued to speak," The killer was sighted breaking into a police station with two others before wreaking havoc in the city, disappearing before reinforcements could arrive. Police files on Jeffery woods and several other murder cases have been stolen or burned. We aren't quite sure how much of it was intentional yet."

The man said a few other things before Liu abruptly changed the station. He didn't want to listen to it anymore, a familiar anger was coming back, one that usually meant Sully was trying to resurface again, which Liu wasn't going to let happen. He also couldn't stand to hear the death toll. He didn't want to hear about how many people those three have killed, considering he would have to live with them for the next two days. He grimaced a little. Two days. It was so little and yet too much time, he thought, pulling into the employee parking lot. 

A while later, Liu heard a crashing sound, somewhere in the fish aisle. Chloe, another employee, jumped up made a beeline towards the noise, before Liu stopped her. "Lemme get this one, stay by the register." She nodded, thankful, and shouted after him, "The mops are by the bird cages, just in case!" He waved a thank you gesture at her and headed down there. Walking through the aisles of multicolored guppies and goldfish, he saw the sight of the crash, a small tank of fish had fallen over.

"Shit," Liu cursed under his breath. There was no way to save the small creatures in the tank, most were already dead. He grabbed the mop, right where Chloe said it was, the bird cages, and a sign so he wouldn't have to deal with people while he was cleaning. Getting down on his hands and knees, he started picking up glass and small fish, throwing them inside a garbage bag.

A high pitched, nasally voice sounded from behind him, "Maybe you should use gloves."

Liu turned around and jolted up when he saw Jack, the clown Jeff kept around. Liu wildly shook his head, standing up. "What? What are you doing here?" He looked up and down the aisle frantically. "Is Jeff here too? What if someone sees you?"

Laughing Jack's abrupt laughter made Liu stop talking, instead he watched the clown keel over like it was the funniest thing he'd heard all day.

"If someone sees me!" Jack mimicked. "Sugar, if anyone but you could see me right now you'd know!"

Liu relaxed. Only he could see Jack? It still left a lot of questions in his mind, but he decided to ignore them for now. "What are you doing here?" He asked the clown again. Jack's laughter subsided, and he shrugged, "I was dead bored, so Jeff told me to go 'do something useful,'" He said, using air quotes.

"So you're... spying on me?" Liu asked. Jack shrugged again. "Make of it what you will, hun."

Liu stood there for another moment, before slowly nodding his head and kneeling down to pick up the broken glass. He made sure to keep an eye on Jack, though, and watched the clown relax against a shelf and pull out a lollipop, sucking on it absentmindedly. Liu thought this might be a good time to get more information on his brother, and began asking LJ questions, keeping his voice light.

"What's Jeff doing, since you're here?"

"Watching the news, I think. He wanted to keep an eye on the cops movements."

Liu nodded, faking nonchalance. "Oh, I heard about that. I thought the police might have been wrong about where you were or something, Colorado's what? At least 300 miles away?"

Jack shook his head, giving a slight smile. "No, actually, they were spot on. See, I'm Jeff's taxi, he just uses me to get across the country faster," As he spoke, his smile turned into a grimace. "Bastard ONLY uses me as a free ride, no fun at all..."

"Why do you help him then?" Liu asked, closing the garbage bag. He hoped the glass wouldn't rip it. He got out the mop as LJ responded, "Don't have a choice, bosses orders y'know!" He did jazz hands as he said it, feigning enthusiasm.

"So you're coworkers, not friends?"

"Oh I suppose. But I do happen to enjoy Jeff, he's rather entertaining. He can do really fantastic stuff with that knife. No wonder people think of him as something inhuman," Jack let out a giggle. "And you can't forget about that wonderful smile of his." Jack paused, gesturing slyly at Liu. "I see it runs in the family?"

Liu's hand brushed against the scars on his cheeks. "Thanks," he muttered. The reminder of what his brother did did not help with his anxiety over the situation.

"Its a shame he never finished the job, though" Laughing Jack mused. Liu kept his face neutral. Was he talking about whatever they were doing in Colorado?

"What are you talking about?" He asked. Jack giggled at Liu's response, taking the lollipop out of his mouth. "Don't play dumb with me now, Liu. Jeff didn't properly kill you the first time, did he? Never bothered to finish the job later, even after he found out you were still alive." Jack's demeanor grew cold. "He should have though," He whispered, his colorless eyes boring into Liu, making him uncomfortable. "Jeff won't let us kill you, but don't think for a second I won't try if you do anything... suspicious," He finished with a light chuckle.

Liu didn't respond, or even look at the crazy, inhuman clown, instead, he continued mopping. When he was done, he put the mop back in the bucket and faced LJ, who had since quieted down, watching Liu as he worked.

"Jeff's already tried to kill me once," Liu said, his voice blunt. "I doubt you could do any better."

Jack's eyes widened, and he smiled, the grin was so wide it looked like his face was torn into two. He started laughing, the sound echoing in Liu's ears. The clown snapped his fingers together and disappeared in a puff of black smoke. The faint sound of laughter could still be heard as Liu walked out of the aisle to finish his shift, a sense of dread and deadly calm following him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the huge wait. I got uhhh mega distracted, but since school's picking up again I might actually be able to write words


	6. Pasta with a Creep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liu goes home and has to deal with some college dropout named Tim

Liu unlocked the door to his apartment, locking it behind him, double checking twice. He looked over to the couch to see Tim watching TV, his mask still on.

"I hope you won't have that on when my girlfriend comes over," Liu said, raising an eyebrow at Tim's mask. Tim shrugged, sitting up painfully, his wound still hurting him. "Helps me feel safer," He explained. He paused, before slipping it off. "But I guess you're right."

Liu couldn't help but stare at Tim. It's not that he was frightening or particularly odd, like Jeff and Jack were, in fact, he looked average. Shaggy brown hair and sideburns, with dark eyes that had bags underneath them. Maybe it was the fact he looked so normal was what made Liu's anxiety spike. Tim was the sort of man Liu wouldn't find suspicious in a grocery store, or at the mall. And yet he hung out with...Liu stiffened, thinking back to his earlier encounter with the clown.

Tim seemed to notice Liu's nervousness, and said, "don't worry about the other two, by the way. Jeff left a few hours ago, he'll be back tomorrow. LJ left too, he didn't feel like sticking around."

"Great," Liu responded, in a tone that made it obvious he didn't think it was very great at all. "I'm gonna go plug my phone in to charge," he said, walking away. He hoped his charger was working, it kept falling out during the night, leaving Liu with half a battery when he woke up.

When he came back down, Tim was in the kitchen boiling noodles. 

"I hope you don't mind," Tim said, looking up at Liu. Liu shrugged. "It's fine, but I'm still not sure how I'm going to explain you being here to Lucie."

Tim smiled at he pulled out a colander to put the noodles into. "Maybe I'm an old college buddy?" he said, looking at Liu. Liu tugged at the collar of his shirt, wishing he had his scarf to hide his face.

"That might work," he muttered. Tim looked around the kitchen. "Where are your bowls?" He asked. Liu pointed at one of the cabinets. "Ah, thanks," Tim said. Liu sat at one of the tables, and soon Tim followed suit, putting butter and salt in his bowl of noodles. They sat in silence for a few seconds, before Tim said after a few bites of food, "I never knew Jeff had a brother, y'know that?" Liu shook his head, and Tim continued. 

"Everyone knows that Jeff tried to kill his family. Never realized anyone survived." He paused for a second to take another bite. "I didn't really know Jeff in his early days, when he first became one of us, I don't think anyone knew him until a couple years passed. He started so young."

Liu looked down at his hands. A question bubbled in his chest. _Was Jeff ok? Back then, when he first started out?_ He decided to ask a different one instead. "What was he like when you met him?"

Tim chewed his food, thinking. "Angry. Jeff always seemed angry with the world. Like it let him down somehow. " Tim looked back at the bowl, grabbing more noodles with his fork. He chuckled softly. "I guess he's still pretty angry, but he's chilled out a bit. He's more mature, I guess. Starting out young did give him an advantage when it comes to experience."

Liu thought about that. The words that Tim said felt true. Jeff was always angry, even when they were kids. Maybe it was because the world had let him down, the earth was filled with injustice and bullies and conformity; things Jeff couldn't stand. And in the end the world burned him and not what he hated. Liu's eyebrows creased together.

"By experience, do you mean killing people?" He murmured. He didn't expect an answer. They both knew what Tim meant.

Tim finished eating, and gazed thoughtfully at Liu, who hadn't looked at Tim since he sat down. 

"I'm not trying to scare or threaten you, y'know," Tim stated gently. "I get how scary it is. You brother kills people. And I'm not saying you should forgive him, or that Jeff is a good person. In fact," he scoffed, "Jeff's an asshole. But, he's also pretty damn cool. He's grown a lot over the years. I didn't like Jeff when I first met him, now, I'd trust him with my life." Tim got up and put his empty bowl in the sink, along with the colander and pot.

Liu looked down at the table. "I used to trust him with my life too," he said. "But then he tried to take it from me, so I'm not sure what to think anymore." Liu looked back up at Tim, who was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. Tim stared at him, before he nodded. "Fair enough." he said back, and that was all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway did I ever mention that LJ and Tim represent the two opposing ways Liu views Jeff? LJ represents the monstrous, killing-for-fun Jeff, while Tim represents the more normal, mentally-unstable but otherwise chill Jeff? Because I should probably mention that now. Symbolism and alliteration is my favorite parts of writing words down on a page.


End file.
